Goodman and Putnam on the making of worlds

D Cox*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Hilary Putnam and Nelson Goodman are two of the twentieth century's most persuasive critics of metaphysical realism, however they disagree about the consequences of rejecting metaphysical realism. Goodman defended a view he called "irrealism" in which minds literally make worlds, and Putnam has sought to find a middle path between metaphysical realism and irrealism. I argue that Putnam's middle path turns out to be very elusive and defend a dichotomy between metaphysical realism and irrealism.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)33-46
Number of pages14
JournalErkenntnis
Volume58
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2003
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Goodman and Putnam on the making of worlds'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this